The Concrete Centre Applauds Design Firm for Opting for Registered Specialist Contractors Only

September 14, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The Concrete Centre announced that the decision by Bovis Lend Lease to only use SpeCC registered contractors for specialist concrete works is a strong endorsement of the growing professionalism of the specialist concrete contractor.

Bovis joined other major specifiers and engineers, such as Arup, Amec and Mott MacDonald, in recognising the benefits of using a SpeCC registered specialist contractor.

The Bovis/SpeCC supply chain initiative became effective as of 1 July 2007 and companies not registered with SpeCC will not be invited to tender for future works.

SpeCC, the registration scheme for specialist concrete contractors, was established to provide a pan-industry recognised criteria of best practice but it also provided a mechanism for specialist concrete contractors to improve the overall effectiveness of the sector by setting targets for year-on-year improvement, according to The Concrete Centre.

Initially focused on concrete frame construction, SpeCC expanded to include other specialist concrete contractor areas, such as concrete basement construction and concrete barrier slip forming.

Bovis Lend Lease supports the development of SpeCC and is seeking to introduce the scheme's use with other main contractors and the Major Contractors Group (MCG).

"This is a commendable scheme for recognising technical, health and safety and commercial competence," said Nigel McKay, head of group supply chain for Bovis Lend Lease. "We hope that it will become standard practice within the industry to use SpeCC contractors when contracting specialist concrete works."

Source: The Concrete Centre.